But Celtic boss Neil Lennon says his defender’s brush with controversy on Twitter last week should act as a flashing light to the rest of his players.

So much so that the Hoops gaffer has been forced to warn them and their wives about the dangers of social media.

As if Lennon doesn’t have enough to deal with, such as winning the title or progressing in the Champions League, he also had to discipline Mulgrew after he posted nude pictures on his own Twitter page.

The Hoops manager isn’t against the use of social media sites and it helped him raise thousands of pounds for charity recently.

But if his players – or their partners – act irresponsibly and tarnish the club’s reputation, Lennon has vowed to come down hard on them.

He said: “I’ve had to warn the players about Twitter. Not just the players but their wives as well.

“I’ve told the players anything damaging the reputation of the club will be heavily fined – and we might have to stop them using it altogether. We have made them clear on that.

“There have been episodes even before this week where I have taken a dim view on it. We’ve made it clear that there is a certain line you can’t cross.

“And Charlie putting up naked pictures wasn’t one of his brighter ideas, I have to say. So he’ll get punished for that.

“I use Twitter myself and there are a lot of good things you can use it for. For example, I did a 10k run the other week and raised a lot of money for charity.

“If I hadn’t used Twitter I probably wouldn’t have raised nearly as much. So there are benefits but, like everything else, there are also drawbacks.

“I have sympathy for the players in terms of how easy it is to get dragged into something. But they should be experienced enough to know what they can and cannot do on a public site.”

Lennon was a Twitter victim last week when Hibs striker Rowan Vine decided to aim a sickening message towards him.

It came about following Lennon’s post-match comments at Easter Road after his side had earned a 1-1 draw against Vine and Co.

The Englishman later said sorry to the Hoops boss online and – despite accepting his apology – Lennon feels Vine will regret his comments.

He said: “He has backed down and apologised for it. He probably regrets it now but it was done in the heat of the moment – he might have had a pint in his hand at the time, I don’t know.

“But it’s not a personal thing and I accept his apology. We’ll move on and it’s not a huge issue for me.”

Rather than dwell on negativity, Lennon would no doubt prefer to bask in the glory of a Champions League victory over Ajax.

One of the stand-outs against the Dutch side was Virgil van Dijk and Lennon has been delighted with the defender’s contribution.

But he fears that – six months into his Hoops career – other clubs will have already taken note of van Dijk’s displays in Europe.

Lennon said: “Virgil is proving why I was so keen to get him.

“He has everything you want in a defender. He can head it, he’s a great athlete and technically he’s good. Virgil can only get better because he’s a real specimen of a boy. He’s just 22 and has a lot in front of him.

“We got him in early and for what we thought was a good price. We’re delighted with him but were worried someone would nick him in the summer. Speaking to some scouts, they are surprised no one in England took him. I don’t know if they were unsure if he would adapt to the British game but we had no qualms whatsoever.

“There will probably be interest in January but he’s not for sale.

“Virgil has just come in the door so we have to let him progress. If he keeps going the way he is then it’s inevitable that there will be suitors. But that’s not for the foreseeable future.”

Van Dijk will be at the heart of Celtic’s defence tomorrow for the short trip to Firhill where they will face Partick Thistle.

Lennon has injury doubts over James Forrest and Mulgrew, is still missing Kris Commons and Adam Matthews but should have Mikael Lustig, Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley and Tom Rogic all fit. And the Celtic boss hopes Israeli midfielder Kayal can take his form from the Ajax victory into the game in Maryhill.

He said: “We’ll have a strong team .

“Kayal picked up a knock on Tuesday but should be okay.

“He can smell it now after his goal against Ajax. When he made that first-half tackle all his old senses came back.

“He was feeling what he felt a year or two ago and it will have done him the world of good. I feel two weeks ago he wouldn’t have made that challenge.

“But it was as good as a goal for us and you could see that Beram then looked like his old self.

“After the goal, he had a turn and change of pace that has been missing recently. Psychologically, Beram is in a much better place now.”